January 27, 1921
What was happening a century ago this week from the front page of the Cowichan Leader.
January 27, 1921
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church was on a roll 100 years, with intentions to enlarge its accommodation after becoming debt free by paying off its mortgage. Although only 30 families attended St. Andrew’s they totalled 100 adults and children.
It was a full house for guest speaker Miss MacGregor, field secretary of the Women’s Missionary Society, who spoke on population distinctions and established religions in Canada. It was a time when English-speaking citizens barely outnumbered immigrants from Europe and the Orient. Typical of her privileged White Anglo Saxon background, she made a further distinction: that it was too soon to “expect any contribution towards morality or religion from the Orient”.
She was more generous to immigrants from Russia who came from harsh backgrounds but were strong, able, willing, economical and intelligent. Not to mention ambitious: of the 14 honour graduates at Manitoba University, eight were from immigrant families. They invested their time in study rather than going o movies or otherwise squandering their time. It was essential that Canadian schools set moral standards, she said, because the mainstream churches on the Prairies had not done so. This failure would result in a moral lapse and pose a future menace to the country; only the gospel of Jesus Christ could save them and the nation from future damnation.
On the Methodist front, the Rev. Edward Bishop, field secretary for evangelism and social services in the three western provinces, spoke to the Duncan Epworth League on getting back to God. Every young person, he said, should have an aim in life and prepare to reach it by a good education, a good physique and a good spiritual life. “Whether their aim was in business, the professions, or the ministry, their ideal should be to serve rather than to get.”
To some extent the Church had lost sight of these precepts and he thought that, first, it must get back to God, the Source of all power.
The United Farmers of B.C. had held a concert at Glenora with singing, banjo and piano solos, recitations and musical monologues. Mrs. M. Reid, Miss Bobbie Stephens, Miss Sylvia Kennington and Mr. Godfrey Stephens gave a short play, “After the Honeymoon.” All followed by refreshments.
The Somenos U.F.B.C. staged a Burns night before a large audience in the school. Besides music and dinner the Rev. A.F. Munro spoke on the humanity of the Scottish poet.
The United Farmers were about to host a four-day series of informative lectures that would embrace almost all farming subjects other than seed growing. The Leader encouraged farmers to take advantage of this veritable gold mine to educate themselves. All of the speakers would be professional agriculturalists, including university professors.
But there was tragedy at Somenos, too, the body of Chinese immigrant Wong Chew Lai having been found in a shack near the railway station. He’d left a note on a sack of rice stating he was going to take his own life after despairing of ever being able to pay off his debts, totalling $4000, in China.
He was only 35 but unemployed and said to be of poor physique (when labourers had to have hardy physiques) and had been in Canada for 10 years. He left a wife in China.
Capt. T.. Sheppard had bought the Knox brothers’ house on Godden Road, Duncan.
F.C Paterson, district commercial superintendent of the B.C. Telephone Co., was in town to oversee repairs to company lines caused by a recent storm. 350 phones were down and he assured subscribers that the company was doing everything possible to restore service promptly even though some of the wires and poles had to be replaced.
At Koksilah, without a teacher, it was good news that trustees had engaged a Miss Smith to teach class.
Trustee W.M. Dwyer was re-elected chairman of the Consolidated School Board; one of its first orders of business was to decline a request for a raise in salary from a teacher, Miss Atherton.
Entertainment, “the variety and quality of which it will be hard to equal in Duncan,” filled the Opera Hall. MLA Kenneth Duncan opened the program with a history of the Cowichan Library followed by a recitation by khaki-clad H.G. Grainger. A chorus sang “The Admiral’s Broom,” there were violin solos and the piece de resistance, a dramatic sketch, “The interfering Flapper.” It’s about a would-be poet and ill-used husband who “evoked more mirth than sympathy” from the audience.
The big news item on this front page for Jan. 27, 1921 was the meeting of North Cowichan Council, this one held at Chemainus. Roads and tax questions were the order of the day. A financial statement by Clerk C.S. Crane showed that the Municipality had a surplus but no figures were published and Clrs. Ashby and Green said they hoped for a more clear and explanatory report next time.
Various committees were struck for 1921, including two “fence viewers”—observers?
Clr. Ashby wanted all correspondence from ratepayers re: road repairs be made available to the entire Council, Clr. Green wanted the expected war trophy, a 75mm German field gun, to be mounted on display in the Somenos School grounds. This was the same gun, apparently, that had been promised to Duncan and the City had written a request for its being turned over. Reeve Paitson said it would be held in abeyance until all war trophies had been allocated by Ottawa.
He then expressed his dissatisfaction with the never-ending roads headache which he said was disorganized and must be improved: “They must get a dollar’s worth of work for every dollar spent, and to do so they must put the equipment and office into good shape.” He recommended that an outside expert be hired to evaluate the Municipality’s gasoline-powered equipment.
The Council agreed and suggested that Paitson and a Councillor, as a committee, approach the provincial government for counsel.
The meeting had to be called short because the southbound train was due to arrive. At a subsequent meeting in Duncan it was decided that a $5 poll tax per male would be imposed and dog licenses increased by $1.It was also agreed to float a loan for $25,000 from the Bank of Montreal at 6 per cent interest.
Perhaps tongue-in-cheek, Ashby then suggested a road tax of $2 “upon all females in the Municipality” as they, too, had a vested interest in the state of public roadways. Clr. Menzies said that would simply mean another burden for the farmer who’d be paying for the female members of his household.
So it was, 100 years ago this week.
Have a question, comment or suggestion for TW? Use our Contact Page.